Why people recommend it
Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín is a celebrated novel about a young Irish immigrant navigating homesickness, romantic choices, and a dual identity in 1950s New York and her native village. On an episode of The Book Review titled Colm Toibin on His Sequel to Brooklyn, guest Sarah Lyall referenced the original 2009 novel to provide essential context for the discussion of its sequel, Long Island. Meanwhile, in the episode Inside The New York Times Book Review: The Defender, guest Greg Coles mentioned the book's ongoing popularity and its position on the bestseller lists, noting its role as the foundation for the acclaimed film adaptation. In another episode titled Inside The New York Times Book Review: City of Thorns, guest Alexandra Alter and host Pamela Paul discussed screen adaptations of prominent literary works, with Paul expressing her admiration for the film version and noting that it inspired her to pick up the book itself. Together, these conversations highlighted the enduring cultural footprint of Tóibín's narrative, celebrating how a quiet story of migration and displacement resonated widely across both the literary world and cinematic adaptations.
Who recommended it
- Sarah Lyall Discussed
- Greg Coles Discussed
- Alexandra Alter Discussed
- Pamela Paul Discussed
Sarah Lyall — 1 mention
“Long Island is the sequel to Brooklyn published in 2009”
Greg Coles — 1 mention
“and number three is colem toy beans Brooklyn uh which is also the Bas of of that movie”
Alexandra Alter — 1 mention
“among the nominations are um Brooklyn by col toyin The Big Short by Michael Lewis room by Emma Donahue which is a really sort of chilling novel and a hard one to adapt and the Martian by Andy Weir and the Revenant which is based on U Michael pun's 2002 novel about a frontiersmen that actually picked up 12 nominations”
Pamela Paul — 1 mention
“and then I recently watched um Brooklyn and loved that movie but haven't read the book so now I feel like I need to read the book”